Tollywood Actor Chalapathi Rao Suffers A Sudden Cardiac Arrest; Dies

Even before the Tollywood fraternity could come to terms with the death of one of the legendary personalities- Kaikala Satyanarayana on December 23, another sad news sent the industry into grief. Senior character actor-cum-producer Chalapathi Rao (79) passed away in the wee hours of December 25, due to a cardiac arrest.

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Born as Tammareddy Chalapathi Rao in Balliparru village of Krishna district in 1944, the actor turned to the film industry after being encouraged by Nandamuri Tarakarama Rao (NTR). He debuted as a character artist and was a popular villain. He was first seen on the screen alongside Superstar Krishna in 'Goodcharai 116' released in the year 1966. He worked with actors of three generations starting with NTR, Chiranjeevi-Nagarjuna, Venkatesh, and many others to date.

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Chalapathi Rao is best known for characters of goons, who assault women in films. His characters in films like Yamagola, Yuga Purushuda, Driver Ramudu, Akbar Saleem Anarkali, Bhale Krishnudu, Sarada Ramudu, Justice Chowdary, Simhadri, Bobbili Puli, Chattam Tho Poratam, Arundhathi, Dammu, Legend, Allari, Allare Allari, Ninne Pelladutha, Nuve Kavali, Bunny, and Simha among others received a great reception. He was last seen in Bangarraju starring Nagarjuna and Naga Chaitanya.

After becoming a successful actor, Chalapathi Rao turned producer and bankrolled films like Kaliyuga Krishnudu, Kadapa Reddamma, Jagannatakam, Pellante Noorella Panta. Although he started his career playing the conman characters, he was versatile. Chalapathi Rao frightened the viewers as well as made them laugh. Allari Naresh's film 'Allari', directed by his son Ravi Babu is a classic example of his acting capacities.

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Chalapathi Rao is survived by three children including actor-producer-director Ravi Babu, Malini Devi, and Sridevi. His wife, Indumathi, passed away several years before.

Chalapathi Rao is said to have been living along with his son in Banjara Hills' MLA Colony until his death. His mortal remains will be kept for public viewing until 3 pm on December 25 at Ravi Babu's house. Later, his body will be moved to a morgue until one of his daughters arrive from the USA. The final rites will be conducted on Wednesday, according to the information.